Mackinac Island Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mackinac Island, Michigan 49757
Thursday, August 9, 2001 13:45 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane impacted trees and terrain short of the runway while landing. The pilot said that he encountered turbulence in the traffic pattern. He said that the stall warning horn sounded and he added power, but could not clear the trees. He said that he elected to retract the flaps, hold his attitude and clear the trees if possible, or land in the trees. He made no mention of mechanical difficulties. A witness said that he saw the airplane as it made its approach to land. He said that on the final approach the airplane, "...got very low." He estimated that the airplane was no more than 100 feet above the trees when it passed over the eastern shoreline bluff of the island. He said that the airplane then made a steep climbing turn to the left at a pitch of 30 to 40 degrees nose up. He said that he could see the top of both wings before the airplane passed from his view behind the trees. The wind was 250 degrees at 9 knots gusting to 19 knots and the wind direction was variable between 210 and 320 degrees. The visibility was restricted by haze. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies that could be associated with a pre-impact condition.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain proper glidepath during the landing approach resulting in the pilot not maintaining clearance from the trees. Factors were the haze, the gusty winds, and the trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/9/2001
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1345
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Mackinac Island
Event State MICHIGAN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 49757
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport MACKINAC ISLAND
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MCD
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 80
Airport Elevation 740
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1335 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 260
Weather Observation Facility ID MCD
Elevation of weather observation facility 740
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 3
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 19
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.74
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 2
Injury Total All 3
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11740
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 9 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1500
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2002 12:16PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Grand Rapids, Michigan

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5268W
NTSB Number CHI01LA269
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model P210N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number P21000668
Certified Max Gross Weight 4000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name LB Aviation, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 123 De Windt Rd.
Aircraft Owner City Winnetka
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 60093
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code PWK
Departure City Wheeling
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code MCD
Destination City Mackinac Island
Destination State MI
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 13 2002 9:46AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 26
Runway Length 3501
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --